Still, the positives couldn’t erase the twists and turns that may shape the team’s long-term aspirations.

Before the game, the Yankees learned that they likely will be without left-handed reliever Pedro Feliciano for the rest of the season. During the game, they learned that Phil Hughes’ fastball remains missing in action. And after the game, they hinted it may be time to make some difficult decisions about how to deal with their 24-year-old right-hander.

“We’ll talk about it,” general manager Brian Cashman said, an acknowledgment that the team will begin exploring alternatives, such as skipping Hughes in the rotation.

Before Joba Chamberlain blocked the plate to take away what would have been a difference-making run from the Orioles, before Jorge Posada tied the game with a homer to lead off the ninth, and before Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez sparked what proved to be the winning rally in the 10th, the Yankees absorbed their first dose of bad news.

Already on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, Feliciano acknowledged today that surgery may not be far off after an MRI revealed a capsular tear in his left shoulder.

He will visit orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion Monday but acknowledged that he will likely undergo surgery that would knock him out until at least next spring training.

Despite a heavy workload with the Mets, especially in the last three seasons, Cashman gave Feliciano a two-year, $8 million deal this past offseason. Now it appears the Yankees will get little from that investment, even if he’s physically ready for next season.

“Can he come back and be Pedro Feliciano? I couldn’t tell you,” Cashman said. “It’s a Chien-Ming Wang-like issue, and he’s still trying to come back with Washington.”

Indeed, Feliciano, 34, suffered the same injury that essentially ended Wang’s career in the Bronx after back-to-back 19-win seasons.

“I want to be here,” said Feliciano, who was stunned by the news. “I’m a guy wants to pitch every day … not to be shut down for maybe a year, I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. It’s going to be hard.”

He wasn’t the only pitcher facing a crisis.

For the third-straight outing Hughes’ fastball hovered around 89 mph on the radar gun, doing nothing to allay the team’s mounting concerns. He offered a glint of hope in the first inning, hitting 92 mph on a handful of pitches, though it proved to be fleeting.

Ultimately, the Yankees were forced to rally from a 5-0 deficit because Hughes gave up a two-run shot to Nick Markakis in the third before leaving the game after a Markakis RBI double in the fourth. With his fastball about 3 mph slower than normal, Hughes once again was exposed.

“It’s our job as his teammates to pick him up,” said Swisher, who helped win it after the bullpen denied the Orioles any more runs following Hughes’ departure.

Clearly exasperated after allowing five runs in just 4⅓ innings, Hughes maintained that he’s healthy, but that he’d be open to whatever the Yankees want to try in hopes of getting him back on track.